Still a long way to go for South Coast Railway Zone in Visakhapatnam

People expect that things will finally begin to look up in 2023, including the beginning of construction work on the zonal headquarters building

The last leg of the year 2022 saw hectic activity in the Railways, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi going on an inauguration spree of several projects during his visit to the city on November 12.

However, in an anti-climax of sorts, the Prime Minister did not lay the foundation stone for the most anticipated project of all — the headquarters of the South Coast Railway Zone (SCoR) — flummoxing the people of North Andhra.

The move was surprising because just a few days before the Prime Minister’s much-hyped arrival to the city, BJP leaders including MLC P.V.N. Madhav had told the media a few days ago that Mr. Modi would be laying the foundation stone for the zonal headquarters. His statement had revived hopes of locals and rail activists that work would finally begin on the project which was announced back in February 2019.

The Prime Minister had addressed a public meeting at the Andhra University College of Engineering grounds and remotely laid the foundation stone for some projects and launched a few others in Visakhapatnam city and other parts of the State. Railway officials had made arrangements for remote laying of the foundation stone for SCoR zone by the Prime Minister at Wireless (Railway) Colony, close to the city railway station. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had visited the site on the night of November 11. A day before, the Railway Board had also sanctioned ₹106 crore for the construction of the SCoR zonal headquarters building.

Locals were optimistic that the Prime Minister would at least flag off the Visakhapatnam-Varanasi express, the proposal for which was cleared by the Railway Board five years ago, and the Visakhapatnam–Bengaluru express, which had a successful run for over two years as a special train with an average occupancy of 140% but was subsequently withdrawn for unknown reasons. Though it was reintroduced as a weekly special train recently, locals have been demanding that it should be made a regular train with convenient timings. The BJP government at the Centre has let down the local people on this count as well, lament locals.

Rail users wonder why the Prime Minister did not lay the foundation stone for SCoR Headquarters, even when the Railway Board had already sanctioned funds for the purpose. Further, the design for the redevelopment of the Visakhapatnam Railway Station shows only eight platforms and not the additional ones for which a survey was done long ago.

There is no progress on the proposal for construction of a third line from Visakhapatnam Junction to Gopalapatnam, which has been in existence for several years, with a survey said to have been completed long ago. This is despite the fact that the third line can ease congestion at Visakhapatnam Junction to a great extent.